rhino_neil

 So on SUnday I was striding when I went out.  Actually striding.  It's how I used to walk.  Occasionally people would criticise me, so I'd reign myself in for that walk and not walk with them again and something else I liked to do was worn away.

I don't mind walking in tyhe rain, but peole say "oh,  except if the weather's bad" when you talk about going out so once more I get worn away.

After yesterday's blip at work I woke up earlier and feeling slower thatn I hoped.  So I've had breakfast, watched you tube and did some stair and porch exercies, stretcing, knee lifts, etc whilst listening to the podcast..from  poetry unbound.  I'm years behind, but I started with 2026 run recently.

https://onbeing.org/programs/cyrus-cassells-jasmine/

So I've moved got my heart rate up and listened to poetry read and talked about by my friend Pádraig 

SO remember to hydrate today and ask for help since I'm stuck.

So, Considering how much time I've put into laudry, rubbish recycling, kicthen and office, the lack of any finished clean space is disaapointing, but progress was made, sun was sat in, "Rocky" was watched on the itvx app.  Doctor Who - The Great Beyond audio play was started, I've had it for 6 months and hadn't listned to it yet, It's afifth Doctor, Adric, Nyssa & Tegan story and I decided to listen to all the Big Finish with this cast in a few weeks ago and have made quite good progress with a Big Finish era that all came out within the last 9 years.  BF have produced a lot of stories, so re-listening particularly as an ""era" is not easy if you want to stay up to date as well!.

I've opened "The Great When" by Alan Moore a couple of times, butnot got far.  NO reason, just never quite found the time to settle. I'm enjoying his flowery language and looking forward to finishing book 1 before the second one comes out next month!

I did finish Pigeon Post on audio book this week by Arthur Ransome, again the period detail, parti;carly the fire fighting scenes appealed most.  I listend to the start of "We Didn't mean to go to sea" and without the Amazons (my least favorite pair)  I'm looking forward to this as the journey accross the NOrth Sea in the dark still rings a bell or genuine fear over 40 years since I last read it.

I went up to the Cafe and sat outside with my chai and toatsed sandwich.  It was cold and bracing but even on a grey day there's a brightness to the spring days that separates us from winter.

I'm offf in two weeks and making some progress on the flkat before then is a good thing.  Looking at my desk now, it's much clearer than this morning.

Sarah had such a rich full life that improving how I live mine for now and the future takes on a bigger meaning.

So, latish start, after 7 am today, a bit of TV and no morning church.  I ended up going to see The Choral with Ralph Fiennes and a host of british character actors.  A lovely film, funny and poignant with a great central performance and the supporting cast doing just that.

I haeded off to church for the monthly LGBT+ service for the first time in montths.  Ran into a friend and had a natter and I'm going to do a reading at "Big Gay Carols" next month.

 Hello Elwin & Frank.

So I'm actually functional today and relatively clear headed. Ive been clearing the broken glass off the floor so I don't rip my feet open. 
Kitchen is done, ive eaten and done laundry.

Onyo broken stuff in the living room. I didn't have a good week emotionally which lead to things spontaneously break8ng when I threw them at the floor. 

So my new blakes 7 blu ray is expected today, but I'm watching DS9 until it shows. 

 So sometimes I wake up at 5:30, go to loo, back to sleep, sometimes I don't get back to sleep, so here was are on Saturday at 7am, clean, already bacon sandwich done.  Coffee in pot.

The training ended yesterday and after 11 weeks, felt like leaving a team.  But new team on Monday and proper work that I know how to do.  Can't wait.

In the meantime, books, sunshine, church, cinema and whatever else catches my eye.

I've been watching Red Dwarf on iplayer this week and  mix of going straight to series 4, feeling better and that I've not seen any for a few years I was laughing like a drain.  It's very much "OF IT'S ERA", but it's the era I was 20 so I'll fogrive it some outdated jokes.

So, after unemployed for 11, 12 weeks, I've been in training for 11 weeks for the "new" job.

This 11 weeks went quicker I think. :)

Whilst it's a company I've not worked for before, it's a job I've done or been adjacent to since 1999.  Having 11 weeks training has got me used to doing admin instead of support or tech pensions calcs.  After 5 years of being unsupported in work it's been like a warm bath and I'm at 90% accuracy, meeting targets and excellent all round.

Let's hold that.  I'm excellent.  I mean I always knew that, but here's someone I never met befor3e April saying it.

So training ends on Friday and out into the real world on Monday.  I mean we've already been doing real cases in training so not much of a jump!  But new people and new client to me.  I'm at what might traditionally be seen as a starting job in pensions, but I love it.  I can end the day, pack up hgave a shower and my life is mine, to read, listen, walk, swim whatever.  I'm on  abudget, but the backlog of books and DVDs should keep my busy.  

I'm hoping that I might be more actively sociable ni the next year or so.  In the meantime, the sun shines, the wind blows, and I don't feel lost.  I don't feel lost.

Think about that.  I'm home in so many ways.

 So, I had quite a productive morning.  I don't think this job search is going to be easy, I'm not sure how leaving the last job is going to impact my relationship with the recruiter in question, who are a major recruiter for the industry.  There are lots of jobs, but I need to find one in the right niche.  That said, I've seen a role that takes me back to an earlier part of my career and is working in a day to day admin rather than projects or "change". 

I hadn't thought of going back to admin, but hey, why not?  It's a senior role, so there will be a team leader to do the formal year people stuff.  I get to work with the team, do cases, checking, training, technical stuff, client stuff.  It's much more sociable than projects and you can be an all rounder.

People, it means being a people person.  Yep.  And really, however much I try to hide it I am.  I make friends, I join communities.  I am liked.

I feel positive without being over excited or bouncy.  It's interesting bringing my own time to this as I can decide what I want to do and what excites me without it being something a recruiter has dropped on the table and wants an answer for.

 So, unemployed day 1.

Technically I'm on pay in lieu of notice.  But still anxiety, stress, wanting to stay in bed.  A friend I haven't seen in over 20 years whose son I share a birthday with messaged me to get up.  So here I am drinking tea and eating sticky porridge.

At the moment there is money and a little to come.  There are debts.  There are jobs to apply for.  There are skills I have, there are things to do.  I've been here before, picked myself up and moved on.

The quiet is all encompassing.  I don't want to put music, podcasts etc on yet.  but the quiet.

And oh god, the lifetime of friends.  the friends.  stepping up.

 So more tidying, 

More Macra Terror and some of Tomb of the Cybermen.  Troughton rules.

Did another 6 km listening to Ana Matronic & "Ooh" Gary Davies' New Years eve radio shows and cup of coffee in "The Venue" (best coffee in Perth).Finished another chapter of Necropolis om Lomdon's burial history and watched Mission Impossible 6 to finish the day

I have some clean work surfaces.   Dear God that's  been a while.

Tomorrow head out to Monfieth and walk along the Tay back into Broughty Ferry.  Not sure what I'll listen to yet.

well that went well didn't it?

yeah, sarcasm obvs bro.

So my brother lets call him manipulative arsehole  git or "Colin" for short has got me e-mail, phone, snail mail addresses.  If our niece wants to contact me, he only has to send me a quick e-mail and she can have any contact details she wants.

But no, I get a facebook friend request and an "Are you Uncle Neil?" message.  Yes. and a bit of to and froing.  I'm not particularly forthcoming but she initiated contact, so i'm really waiting for her to take the lead, so after a bit "are you busy yes or no"  A bit abrupt I thought but hey, "No I'm not busy."   "What lead you to contact me today"   - response "Uncle Colin", my response is to set my boundaries "I'll talk to you on the condition that noting I say is passed to Colin and that he is not given sight of my Facebook page."

I'm then informed that she wont bother me Anymore.

I tel her that she can contact me anytime, although preferably evenings or weekends and that Colin knows that I'm not interested in talking to him.

"OK"

and end of conversation

So obviously I could have handled that better, but I still feel that Colin is manipulating things here and how this contact was made.  I'm pretty pissed off by this.